Encounters with a canine other: performing domestication in transnational animal rescue and rehoming

: Nora Schuurman

Publisher: ROUTLEDGE JOURNALS, TAYLOR & FRANCIS LTD

: 2019

: Social and Cultural Geography

: SOCIAL & CULTURAL GEOGRAPHY

: SOC CULT GEOGR

: 1

: 18

: 1464-9365

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/14649365.2019.1619820

The transnational practices of rescuing and rehoming unwanted animals with the help of specific animal 'rescue' organisations have become more widespread in the 2010s. These practices can be considered manifestations of a response to the perceived problems in dog breeding. They can also be understood in terms of interspecies care, a process comprising relational encounters and communications between humans and animals, interpretations of 'animality' in different spatial and temporal contexts, as well as situational practices. In this article, I explore the experiences of adopting a 'rescue' dog and the process in which the animal adapts to life in the home. Drawing from blogs published by adopters of rescue dogs in Finland, I ask whether the experiences of encountering and accommodating a rescue dog can be understood as performances of 'everyday domestication'. An encounter with a rescue dog involves practices in which the animal is introduced to the spaces and relational networks in which they are expected to live. In the blogs, the dog-human relationship is communicated to the reader in a way that suits the culturally shared idea of living with a dog, including expectations of attachment and control, and interpretations of animal agency.